THOUGH it is billed as the St Patrick’s Day meeting, the next race fixture at Down Royal will be held on March 16th, a day before Ireland’s national holiday. With the first meeting under their belt following a change of guard, the new team at the course are now looking ahead to the remaining 11 fixtures in 2019.

With a mixture of flat and National hunt racing scheduled there will be something for everyone this year, and the team’s nerves were well tested with the first meeting in late January. The racecourse had to survive a morning inspection, while a low sun also became a factor, one that was overcome.

The first meeting of 2019 produced some notable performances too, with the expensive sale purchase Andy Dufresne, who cost £330,000, impressing when he won the BetVictor-sponsored bumper for the potent trio of JP McManus, Gordon Elliott and Derek O’Connor.

All the leading National Hunt trainers in Ireland supported the first meeting, and the year ahead looks bright.

This week brought the news that Down Royal has secured a major three-year sponsorship deal with Northern Ireland’s leading craft spirit, Shortcross Gin. The agreement will see the Co. Down-based company become the racecourse’s exclusive Irish spirit partner, giving the brand naming rights for Down Royal’s premium hospitality suite.

‘The Shortcross Gin Suite’ will give the brand a presence among the 50,000 racegoers who are expected to attend the remaining meetings on Down Royal’s 2019 racing calendar. Distilled at the family home on Rademon Estate outside Downpatrick, Shortcross Gin is the brainchild of husband and wife, David and Fiona Boyd-Armstrong.

Emma Meehan, chief executive at Down Royal Racecourse said: “We’re delighted to welcome Shortcross Gin, Northern Ireland’s first craft gin, to our prestige stable of sponsors. The Boyd family has a strong history with the course and a genuine passion for horse racing, so it is very fitting that the relationship has evolved further with this new partnership.”

Fiona Boyd-Armstrong, managing director of Shortcross Gin said: “We’re really excited to be partnering with Northern Ireland’s premier racecourse and for the very first time offering Shortcross Gin to the wider Down Royal audience. The race-going experience provides us with the perfect environment to target and engage with a highly discerning crowd, providing them with the ultimate Shortcross Gin experience.”

Situated on the ground floor of the Hospitality Pavilion, The Shortcross Gin Suite overlooks the finishing straight of the Down Royal racetrack and so is an ideal location for guests to enjoy Down Royal’s hospitality.

Speaking of their passion for the product, David and Fiona said: “Creating Shortcross Gin has been a true love affair for both of us; we wanted to rekindle a distilling tradition that spans back centuries in Ireland. It has taken time to build and create our distillery, time to travel the world and craft our skills, so when we distil we do so slowly. We hand-bottle, wax dip and sign each bottle. The process may be slow but it’s a true craft. Each Shortcross bottle is as unique as its new owners.”

Down Royal’s remaining fixtures for the year are Saturday, March 16th; Friday, May 31st (evening); Friday, June 21st (evening) and Saturday, June 22nd; Friday, July 26th (evening); Friday, August 30th (evening) and Saturday, August 31st: Friday, November 1st and Saturday, November 2nd; and Thursday, December 26th.